NATO
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
February 1, 2023

Soldiers challenge themselves on Alpine adventure training

Soldiers from across the NATO alliance took part in Exercise Snow Master 23, in Stubai, Austria. The is an annual ski training exercise hosted through the UK Army’s adventure training program aimed to enhance mission readiness and personnel capabilities.

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As the highest and most extensive mountain range within Europe, Snow Master chose the Alps to host this year’s training. The exercise provided an opportunity for serving personnel to learn a new skill or enhance their own existing abilities. Despite the temperatures regularly dropping to -10 degrees soldiers who are able to at variety to their work patterns prove to be a far more effective force.

….Over the course of two weeks, the instructors broke the groups up into four different ski foundation (SF) groups determined by skill and experience. SF1 was designated for those who were novice or beginners to alpine skiing, while SF3 was for the more advanced skiers and incorporated several aspects of arctic tracking across undeveloped slopes. Each level enhanced a different capability of those attending the exercise.

“Participants were purposefully pushed….This ensured the improvement of teamwork, morale and improves the overall operational effectiveness of the HQ ARRC staff,” [said] Maj. Gavin Dickerson.

Blue: NATO members
Light Blue: Enhanced Opportunity Partners
Orange: Partnership for Peace members
Red: Mediterranean Dialogue members
Purple: Istanbul Cooperation Initiative members
Yellow: Individual Partnership Action Plans
Green: Partners Across the Globe
The blue mark east of Colombia is French Guiana.